eG Foodblog: lovebenton0, Pam R, snowangel - North of the 30th paralle

[snowangel]

Sorry to be late in posting tonight, but homework and parent/teacher conferences an IEP meeting sort of interfere at times.

But, Maggie, I did bite the bullet aand made the One of Everything Soup.

The ingredients:

Note, there is almost a speckle on the banana. (makes me want to hork)

OK, Maggie, all of these white chopped things are looking, well, let's say dubious. Then I add the cream. Yew! I'm about to order takeout, but I keep going, trusting you.

Then I take the IB to it, add the cream, and the curry powder, and voila!

They actually liked it, although I sort of improvised on my bowl. Cilantro, and a slight squeeze of lime, and oh, my.

Would I make this again? If I had a banana, in a minute. The kids loved it!

And, on the side, what the Family determined was the best epi they'd ever had.

I'd hoped to get away with takeout tomorrow night, but The Family has determined that it will be something with something else (the something else involving the boule!). Does this boule have a name? I basically take the kitchen shears to the top of it.

[snowangel]

Please tell me what this is:

Hint: it's cold.

[maggiethecat]

Susan: The One of Each is as pretty as I remember it, and go for it, Girl , with your splashes of lime. I'm tickled the kids liked it, even though you skipped one of the one of each --the celery. Without celery it can't truly be called Potage a la Mode de Kalamazoo because I remember that the Zoo is the celery capital of the country or the universe or something.

But enough about soup: your epi is truly to die for.

[Rebecca263]

To be honest, I'm not thrilling to the idea of the one of everything soup, but the curry does make it sound delicious. Maybe if I didn't have to use cream. Cream makes ME want to hork! Thanks for taking one for the team, and the kids love it, who knew? Oh, and that bread ROCKS.

[snowangel]

To be honest, I'm not thrilling to the idea of the one of everything soup, but the curry does make it sound delicious. Maybe if I didn't have to use cream. Cream makes ME want to hork! Thanks for taking one for the team, and the kids love it, who knew? Oh, and that bread ROCKS.

←

Rebecca, this soup could easily be pureed without any cream, or puree and add an egg (if one so desired).

I was mighty skeptical about this one, and had a pizza deliver coupon at the ready. But, I liked it!

Thanks for the compliments on the bread! The Family prounced it the best ever!

Maggie, the only celery I could find was organic, and organic celery is NASTY!

[snowangel]

My daily list for tomorrow. I have already crossed a couple of things off the list!

[Meredith380]

I'm guessing SATC= Sex and the City, but it doesn't seem to mesh with the rest of your list-- am I right or wrong?

[snowangel]

I'm guessing SATC= Sex and the City, but it doesn't seem to mesh with the rest of your list-- am I right or wrong?

←

Oh, you are right. I watch but a little bit of TV. Hawaii 50 ( saldy, ths replaced my favorite breakfast TV, The Rockford Files, but I have recently become a fan of Sex and the City! Perhaps it's because it's winter and they seem to eat lovely salads all of the time!

And, no, it doesn't mesh with the rest of the list. Those women eat salads. They don't seem to change furance filters or quilt!

[lovebenton0]

we three ended up the week with pureed soups all around. pam, yours sounds delicious, mmmm-mmmm roasted pepper soup. and susan the one of everything looks interesting enough to try. thanks for bringing that up, maggie.

tonight i decided to throw caution to the winds and have a small bowl of james peterson's indian-style seafood chowder with coconut milk.

during cooking it was variably odd, ugly and then quite nice in the bowl and i enjoyed it.

head-on shrimp, at 3.99/lb i couldn't pass them up. [i didn't need them head-on for this recipe and turned them stareless with all the good heads and shells in the freezer for shrimp stock for the next pot of gumbo.]

recipe also called for thai chilis. i didn't have any fresh on hand... but i do have a big bucket of dried chilis on hand, mostly from my garden. among several other varieties, there are a lot of thai chilis and tabasco peppers in here, because my garden loved to grow them in the tx heat.

sautee a couple onions, minced garlic, thai chilis, seeded and chopped, and grated ginger

add the dried spices [tumeric, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, coriander, cumin] and cook a couple minutes more until fragrant.

then i missed this pic... this was the ugly stage. add one lb 1/4'' diced russet potato and broth just to cover. i used 2 cups, half the broth called for. cover and simmer 15 minutes until potato smashes easily.

then cool a bit and puree in blender. the ib was not good for this, too thick.

add remainder of broth, two cups [or one 14 oz can] coconut milk and 1/4 cup lime juice. no food mill, so i strained it through screen with ladle. worked fine. velvety smooth.

reheat soup and add cilantro and seafood a few minutes before serving. i used the shrimp and about a half lb of bay scallops i had also.

red grapes and pineapple on the side, a little bread and that's the last soup in for the blog.

it's been a week, folks. hope you enjoyed spending it with us as much as we did with you. kudos to my blog buddies, susan and pam, for carrying their own end and a bit of my dragging tail too.

good night, sweeet dreams, stay warm.

[Pan]

Get well, Judith and Pam! Thanks for blogging -- and for dealing with that extreme cold! -- you three.

[Rebecca263]

I'm sorry that this blog is coming to an end! At least another of our favorites is blogging next, to lessen the sting of the end of daily soup and bread.

I could write for hours about what's gone on in my mind while I've read this blog, pfui! I'm verbose enough, so I'm keeping it to one paragraph.

I thank you all for sharing this week wih us.

[Chufi]

Reading this blog has been like curling up on the sofa with a favorite magazine. A theme, and a lovely theme at that, but 3 different approaches - different enough to keep us interested and surprised! Thanks for inspiring us to make SOUP, and thanks for reminding me that when it's +4 C in Amsterdam, I really can't say that I'm cold! I can't imagine dealing with the kind of cold that you have been describing.

Thank you, Susan, Pam & Judith, for this week. Be well, be warm!

[mizducky]

Thanks for all the soup! Stay warm and take care of yourselves out there.

[C. sapidus]

tonight i decided to throw caution to the winds and have a small bowl of james peterson's indian-style seafood chowder with coconut milk.

←

Judith: That Indian-style seafood chowder looks scrumptious. I have added it to my ever-growing must-make list. I’m glad that you were feeling well enough to enjoy it.

Susan, Pam, and Judith: Thanks to all of you for sharing a soupy and delightful week, with nature’s bitter cold outside and the warmth of hearth and home inside. Get well or stay well, as the case may be.

[Shaya]

I really enjoyed this blog. Each day I felt like I was checking in with a few good old friends. You three have great harmony and are very warm and welcoming women. Thanks for sharing!

[Pontormo]

Pam, Susan & Judith: Between sneezes, I'd like to chime in gratitude. The following almost echoes my own sentiments:

You guys make a great blog team. This blog is an inspiration to me in many ways (high among them - to stay in a mediterranean environment!).

←

although I'd love a thick blanket of snow once every winter. Judith's explanation of her move up north makes a lot of sense to me. I'd rather bundle up in sweaters, sip tea and make soup in the bitter cold than to endure scorching heat.

And BTW, when sharing names for soups made from this and that, no one mentioned stone soup. Jane Smiley contributed a related story to the February issue of Gourmet. It's one of the less showy ways that home cooking relates to frugality in restaurant kitchens.

just a note about the cereal box in the freezer... it's not for cereal. it's for filling freezer bags. to the right of box you see brick-like bags of soup from the week. the cereal box makes the perfect form. insert bag, fill with food, seal and allow to freeze. so much easier to store squared bricks than lumps. 

←

Judith: Brilliant! Too bad the round cylinders of oatmeal boxes won't do, but I'll try to remember this trick once leaves unfurl and it's time to switch to Cheerios.

But, early this week, I noticed some flying bug things (they looked like tiny narrow moths) and I've been puzzled as to where they were coming from.  

←

susan dear, do beware those tiny moth things. i don't know what else to call them either... but they hit my little pantry in tx last winter. i think they came in some bulk rice i bought. they are tiny devils. they will eat through plastic bags, squirm their way into what you consider to be sealed containers [clamped gasket sealed jars, tins with tight lids, etc.]. amazingly voracious, they'll go after everything grainy or dried/fresh veg you've got. along with the bleach route, i had to toss dried peppers from my garden, oh the heartache... rice, barley, cereals and more, before i managed to get rid of them all.

hope your diligence with the bleach got rid of your invasion.

[

←

Unfortunately, there is too much to identify with in this blog since I also noticed one of these a couple of days ago and have yet to find the source...

Well, here's to restored health in all three of your households, red lines creeping up past the zero towards nice, pleasant numbers...and to the salad days ahead!

[Kouign Aman]

Congratulations to Heidi!

This is my pantry.  I just hate it.  It is about 30" deep, and does not have pull-outs. 

When I read the above sentence, I thought "She forgot the "yet". You're clearly not one to let things stay annoying, and then I read on....

But, we are working to change this.  Paul has built a mock-up of a drawer, and has purchased runners.  He, unlike one of the former owners, will get new lumber and do it up right going so far as to dovetail the joints.

Thanks to you all for the blog. I've had a hellacious cold for most of it, and its been a very warming read.

Edited February 7, 2007 by Kouign Aman (log)

[lancastermike]

A great blog! Many thanks to all three of the frozen soupers. My only regret is that we did not see any smoking at the Fahning household. A real herculean effort by all.

[Lady T]

Warm thoughts to all three of you from sweet home Chicago, at a whole fat five degrees Fahrenheit ABOVE zero (wind chill: three below F).

The blog was superb: gonna make me a few of these soups.

[Kim Shook]

susan and anyone else regarding the sore, chapped, dry hands: (sorry about the lower case, but i am recovering from carpal tunnel surgery and typing is hard!). between all the cooking i do and working at the store with counting money and paperwork and washing all the time, my hands were in horrible shape - cracked and red and rough (i had to put on hand cream before i could put on stockings and sometimes i would be counting money and notice blood on it from my fingers!). i finally went to my dr. about it and he put in on a program that in one week completely fixed the problem. He prescribed triamcinolon cream - this is a steriod cream and therefore, can't be used a lot - just while you have actively open fissures. For regular days, he recommended Kerodex 51 cream. The most important part of the program is wearing latex (or non-latex) gloves for EVERYTHING. I wear them all day long at the store and whenever i am cooking/cleaning/crafting at home. this was really hard to get used to - but i perservered and am used to them now - i hardly notice them at all. this really, really solved my problem and i tried everything else in the past - including bag balm (pretty good) and neosporin and overnight cotton gloves.

edited to say - wonderful blog - i have thoroughly enjoyed the vicarious soup noshing!

Edited February 8, 2007 by Kim Shook (log)

[Pan]

A colleague of mine who used to work for UPS recommended pure glycerin, and it seems to be helping somewhat, but I'll keep your remarks in mind in case things get worse. Thanks a lot for the useful information, Kim.